Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-08
4 BLOODY BATTLE.
A General Battle Between Two Fam
lies in the Western Part of
Bowie County,
Four Men Killed Outright and a Fifth
Dangerously Wounded-The Quar-.
rel Over a Piece of Property.
Sceue of Battle Little Log Cabin of One
Room-Two widows and Two Sets
of Fa:herless Children.
Special to tine Gazette.

Special to tine Gazette.
PARIS, TEX, Feb. News reached
here late this evening OF terrible shoot
inc ARRAY which took place about 9
O'Clock this morning four miles west of
DeKalb, between four members of the
White family, j. c. White, his son George
and two nephews on the one side,
and Colonel Edward RAISER, his son
Willie, and his head man, named Mullins,
on the other side, resulting in the death
of old man White and his two nephews,
and Colonel RAISER, and the dangerous
wounding of his son Willie.
The trouble arose over Rasser's trying
to force the Whites out of their house
which RAISER claimed as his property.
Full particulars have not been learned
yet.
jury was impanneIed and has gone
over to the scene of bloodshed.
A farmer who has just come in says the
sight is terrible one.
The house is covered with blood, full
of bullet holes, and four bodies cold in
death lie within few feet of each other.
All died as they fell, and emptying the
contents of their weapons at each other
until death silenced the scene.
THE FULL PARTICULARS.
Special to the Gazette.
DEKALB, Tex, Feb. 7.-Our usually
quiet town was thrown into wild fever
of excitement this morning when man
on horseback came dashing into town with
the information that deadly battle had
been fought about four miles northwest
of town. Four male members of q fam
lily named White were pitted against
Colonel John E. RAISER, his son Willie,
aged fifteen years, and a hired
man named Mullins, resulting in
the killing of three OF the Whites
and Colonel RAISER and the dangerous
wOunding of the boy. \ few minutes
sutficed to empanel jury, who, in COM
pany with the officers and Justice Proctor,
your correspondent also accompanying,
! left hurriedly for the scene of bloodshed.
A ride of an hour over q rough road
brou hit the party to the battle ground,
the home of the White family, log
house consisting of one room shout
twenty feet square, in the center of about
! fifteen acres of cleared land. The party
reached the house and were struck with
horror at the scene.
! On the ground in front of the entrance
to the house was found the dead body of
]. c. White, bullet hole through his
breast and one through his side.
| In the center of the room in great
pool of blood ley Walter White, dead
shot twice through the neck and breast
Upon 3 bed in a half sitting posture
was Lawson White, dead, with a gun
cooked and clutched IN his hands. A bull
let hole through his head told how he
met his death.
In one corner of the room was found
Rasser's son, the boy of fifteen years,
badly shot through the side, with Win
chester his side.
Blood was everywhere and over eyerV-
thing. The deadly weapons that had
wrought so much destruction were scat
tered promiscuously about.
In another part of the room, in q
CroucAing position. was a deformed and
demented creature, woman, who was
related to the White family. Every few
moments she would go into wild convul-
sions.
This, added to the screams and cries of
the widow and five fatherless children,
was scene of horror that Will long be
impressed upon the minds of the be-
holders.
But the scene of death did not end
here. A half mile further on and we
reached the home of RAISER. Here again
was sad scene. In the center of 8 room
was the dead body of RAISER surrounded
by his weeping wife and children. He
had received death wound through the
neck at the hands of old man White, but
being man Of great vitality, after hay-
ing, as he supposed, killed all the Whites,
he mounted his horse and rode to this
scene, dying as he entered his own door.
The trouble seems to have had its orr
gin in law suit. year ago the Whites
bought piece of land OF RAISER, and
falling 10 pay for it he brought suit to
gain possession of the property. A writ
of dispossession had been issued last
week against White, but had been re-
called for some reason, and was not
served. This angered RAISER, and this
in company with his son and his
hired man, all srmed, he went
20 the Whites place to
forcibly eject them. The elder White
invited the RAISER party into the house.
RAISER and his son entered and made
known the object of their visit. A few
words were passed and the firing began.
Old man White staggered from the
house and fell dead in the yard, the elder
RAISER emptying his revolver at him. The
boy was inside, and his version of the
fight is that the elder White shot him and
his father, aud he (the boy shot old man
White once and then turned the Winches-
ter upon the White boys to keep them
from shooting mis- father.
About fifteen shots were fired end with
deadly effect, killing four Of the partlci-
pants and woundlng the boy. RAISER
was an old resident farmer CT Bowie
county. The Whites have been here not
many years, but were considered very
good people. RAISER has long had the
reputation of being desperate man, and
was generally feared to some extent. This
is one of the most deplorable occurrences
that has ever taken place in this county,
and will cast another stain upon Bowie
county that will be hard to wipe out.
Upon viewing this scene of bloodshed
one was forced to call to mlpd scenes of